9/3. The U.S. Court of Appeals
(3rdCir) issued an
order [3
page PDF scan] in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC,
staying the Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) new media ownership rules, pending resolution of the proceeding. The Appeals
Court granted this preliminary relief without making any finding of likelihood of
success on the merits.

On June 2, 2003, the FCC announced its
Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [257 pages in PDF]
amending its media ownership rules. See, story titled "FCC Announces Revisions
to Media Ownership Rules" in
TLJ
Daily E-Mail Alert No. 672, June 3, 2003. The FCC released the text of the
order on July 2, 2003. Numerous petitions for review of various parts of the
order have been filed, mostly in the District of Columbia. On August 19, the
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all of the petitions in
the Third Circuit. The Appeals Court's case number assigned to Prometheus Radio
Project's (PRP) petition is No. 03-3388.

The PRP stated in its August 13, 2003
Petition for
Review [3 pages in PDF] that it is "an unincorporated collective of radio
activists which has been committed to expanding opportunities for the public to
build, operate and hear low power FM radio stations."

The PRP argued that the order is "arbitrary and capricious" and
"violates both the Communications Act and Administrative Procedure Act's public
notice requirements." It requested that the Court "reverse and remand the FCC’s
Order to the extent that it unlawfully repeals the prior ownership rules and
adopts new ownership regulations, reinstate the prior ownership rules, and grant
all other relief as may be just and proper."

The PRP's
Motion for Stay
Pending Judicial Review [21 pages in PDF] set out its arguments in more detail.
It asserted that "if the Court fails to issue a stay, massive consolidation of
the broadcast industry will occur before judicial review can be completed. This
will cause irreparable harm to Petitioner and to the American public, whose
right to receive information is ``paramount.´´"

The FCC argued in its
Opposition to
Motions for Stay Pending Judicial Review [22 pages in PDF] that the "Court
should deny the motions for stay pending judicial review because movants have
failed to make the necessary showing of irreparable harm and a likelihood of
success on the merits."

On the question of irreparable harm, the FCC argued that "While
the new ownership rules set forth the general principles that will guide the
exercise of the Commission’s discretion, they by themselves approve no new
transactions; under the Communications Act, a party seeking to acquire a radio
or television broadcast station must still obtain Commission approval for each
license transfer."

Appeals Court Order. The Appeals Court, with Judges Scirica, Ambro and
Fuentes presiding, heard oral argument on the motion for stay on Wednesday,
September 3. Later in the day it issued a very brief per curiam order.

The Court then identified the legal standard for issuing a stay. "We consider
four factors in determining whether to grant the motion to stay: (1) the
movant's likelihood of success on the merits; (2) whether the movant will suffer
irreparable harm if the request is denied; (3) whether third parties will be
harmed by the stay; and (4) whether granting the stay will serve the public
interest. E.g., Susquenita Sch. Dist. v. Raelee, 96 F.3d 78, 80 (3d Cir.
1996); In re Penn Cent. Transp. Co., 457 F.2d 381, 384-85 (3d Cir.
1972)." However, the Court subsequently omitted the first element, likelihood of
success on the merits, from its requirements.

The Court continued that "At issue in this litigation are changes adopted by
the FCC that would significantly alter the agency's ownership rules for multiple
media properties, including national television networks, local broadcast
affiliates, radio stations, and newspapers. Petitioner has alleged harms from
industry consolidation contending they would be widespread and irreversible if
they occurred. The harm to petitioners absent a stay would be the likely loss of
an adequate remedy should the new ownership rules be declared invalid in whole
or in part. In contrast to this irreparable harm, there is little indication
that a stay pending appeal will result in substantial harm to the Commission or
to other interested parties. Washington Metro. Area Transit Comm'n v. Holiday
Tours, Inc., 559 F.2d 841, 843 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Granting the stay pending
judicial review would maintain the status quo in order to permit appellate
review after briefing on the merits."

The Court then wrote that "While it is difficult to predict the likelihood of
success on the merits at this stage of the proceedings,3 these harms
could outweigh the effect of a stay on Respondent and relevant third parties.
Given the magnitude of this matter and the public's interest in reaching the
proper resolution, a stay is warranted pending thorough and efficient judicial
review."

Footnote 3 states that "An order maintaining the status quo is appropriate
when a serious legal question is presented, when little if any harm will befall
other interested persons or the public and when denial of the order would
inflict irreparable injury on the movant. There is substantial equity and need
for judicial protection, whether or not movant has shown a mathematical
probability of success. Holiday Tours, 559 F.2d at 844."

And finally, the Court concluded, "For the foregoing reasons, we will grant
the Petitioner's motion to stay the effective date of the FCC's new ownership
rules and order that the prior ownership rules remain in effect pending
resolution of these proceedings."

Forum Shopping. On August 19, the Judicial Panel on
Multidistrict Litigation issued its
Consolidation Order
[PDF]. This order states that petitions for review of the FCC's order had been filed in
four circuits -- the District of Columbia, Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits. It
ruled that "The Panel has randomly selected the United Stated Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit in which to consolidate these petitions for review."

Nine petitions had been filed; six of the nine had been filed in
the District of Columbia; one each had been filed in the three other circuits.

While the PRP filed its Petition for Review in Third Circuit, it
is represented by
Andrew Schwartzman, P/CEO of the Media
Access Project (MAP), an interest group based in the District of Columbia, at 1625
K Street. (MAP's website also lists former FCC Chairman William Kennard as a
Director.)

Similarly, the party that filed the petition for review in the Ninth Circuit,
the Media Alliance, is represented by the
Georgetown Institute of
Public Representation, which is a part of Georgetown University's law
school, in the District of Columbia.

Reaction. The FCC's Office of Media Relations
issued a release that states, in full, "The following is a statement to be
attributed to an ``FCC spokesman´´ on the stay of the FCC broadcast ownership
rules ordered today by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:
``While we are disappointed by the decision by the court to stay the new rules,
we will continue to vigorously defend them and look forward to a decision by the
court on the merits.´´"

President Bush also spoke at a signing ceremony. He stated that "When Congress passed trade
promotion authority last year, I promised to use that tool aggressively to open
up new markets for American exporters and to help create high paying jobs for
American workers. And we moved." See,
transcript.

"The agreement with Chile
also includes new projections for intellectual property", said Bush. He
added that the Singapore FTA "contains state of the
art protections for Internet commerce and intellectual property that will help
drive growth and innovation in our technology sectors."

Secretary of Commerce
Don Evans issued a
statement in which he wrote that "President Bush today created greater job opportunities for
American workers by signing free trade agreements with Chile and Singapore. The
agreements are the first free trade agreements signed since the president
achieved trade promotion authority. President Bush understands that free and
fair trade expands opportunities abroad and creates better, higher-paying jobs
here at home. The Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreements are a start to
building on our economy’s strengths and identifying to the world that America is
serious about expanding free trade."

Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-IA), the Chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over most trade issues, stated in
a release that without trade promotion authority (TPA), "the United States fell
behind on trade. But now we're back on track. Knocking down barriers to trade
and allowing U.S. companies to compete on a level playing field around the world
is the goal of TPA. So, with the signing of these trade agreements, we send a
strong message to the world that the United States is back in the game. Just as
TPA benefited our work on these agreements, I fully expect the power of TPA to
have a positive impact on the upcoming World Trade Organization negotiations in
Cancun, Mexico, next week. Because of TPA, Ambassador Zoellick goes to Cancun
empowered to negotiate the best trade deal for America. I'll be watching the
negotiations closely to make sure we achieve a strong result for our farmers and
workers."

Treasury Secretary Addresses Trade With
China

9/3. Secretary of the Treasury
John Snow gave
a speech
in Beijing, China in which he addressed trade and intellectual property rights.

Snow (at right) stated that
"Our trade with you makes your economy stronger. Your trade with us makes our
economy stronger. As our economies are stronger, benefits are extended to the
rest of our trading partners. So just as China benefits from our market, U.S.
businesses and consumers should benefit from China's growth. Clearly,
investments and technology from the United States help to sustain high growth in
China."

He added that "In recent years, China has made historic strides in reforming
its economy and moving to a market-based system. We applaud that and urge continued
progress."

Then, he stated that an "area of concern for me is that U.S. companies
continue to lose billions of dollars because of the piracy of intellectual property.
Enforcement of the good intellectual property laws which China has put in place
is essential to our continued economic relationship."

Survey Estimates the 10 Million Americans
Have Been Victims of ID Theft in Last Year

9/3. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a
document [12
pages in PDF] titled "Report: Federal Trade Commission Overview of the Identity
Theft Program: October 1998 -- September 2003". It reviews the activities
of the FTC to date relating to identity theft. The FTC also released a
report [93 pages
in PDF] titled "Federal Trade Commission: Identity Theft Survey Report", that
was prepared for the FTC by Synovate, a
market research firm. It contains survey results that estimate, for example,
that "almost 10 million Americans have discovered that they
were the victim of some form of ID Theft within the last year".

Howard Beales, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer
Protection, stated in a release
that "For several years we have been seeing anecdotal evidence that
identity theft is a significant problem that is on the rise. Now we know. It is
affecting millions of consumers and costing billions of dollars. This
information can serve to galvanize federal, state, and local law enforcers, the
business community, and consumers to work together to combat this menace."

The Synovate report states that "1.5 percent of survey participants reported that in the last
year they had discovered that their personal information had been misused to open new credit
accounts, take out new loans, or engage in other types of fraud, such as misuse of the
victim’s name and identifying information when someone is charged with a crime, when renting
an apartment, or when obtaining medical care."

The report refers to this as "New Accounts & Other Frauds' ID
Theft". It adds that "This result suggests that almost 3.25 million
Americans discovered that their personal information had been misused in this kind
of fraud in the past year."

The Synovate report also states that "2.4 percent of survey participants
reported misuse of their information in the last year that was limited to the misuse
of one or more of their existing credit cards or credit card account numbers".
Also, "0.7 percent of participants reported misuse of
one or more of their existing accounts other than credit cards -- for example
checking or savings accounts or telephone accounts".

It also states that "Including all types of ID Theft, a total of 4.6 percent of
survey participants indicated that they had discovered they were victims of ID
Theft in the past year. This result suggests that almost 10 million Americans
have discovered that they were the victim of some form of ID Theft within the
last year."

The report also addresses losses. "On average, victims of
``New Accounts & Other Frauds´´ ID
Theft indicated that the person or persons who misused the victim’s personal
information had obtained money or goods and services valued at $10,200 using the
victim's information. This result suggests that the total loss to businesses,
including financial institutions, from this type of ID Theft was $33 billion in
the last year."

Wayne Abernathy, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions,
said in a written
statement that the Bush administration "has called for legislation that,
among other provisions, would establish a national fraud alert system, improve
the accuracy of credit reports, identify the tell tale signs -- or red flags --
to alert lenders so they can thwart identity theft attempts, and put more
information in the hands of consumers -- including annual free copies of their
credit reports. The proposals would also make it easier for victims to restore
their credit histories and impose penalties if a company puts false information
on credit records."

Abernathy added that "The problem is so great, and its impact on consumers so
terrible, that we should not delay giving consumers and law enforcers these
important new tools to fight identity theft."

The FCC will consider a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to
examine ways of amending spectrum regulations and policies in order to promote
the rapid and efficient deployment of quality spectrum based services in rural
areas. This is WT Docket No. 02-381 and WT Docket No. 01-14.

The FCC will consider a NPRM concerning modifications to Parts 2 and 15 of its
rules regarding the design and authorization of unlicensed devices.

The FCC's International Bureau (IB) will
report on the first in a series of annual reports on the commercial satellite
industry.

The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
(WTB) and the National Coordination Committee (NCC) Chair will report on the NCC's
recommendations for interoperable public safety use of the 700 MHz band.

The FCC will consider a NPRM regarding the conditions under which
47 U.S.C. § 251(c)
and § 271 should be
deemed to be "fully implemented" under Section 10(d) of the
Communications Act.

The FCC will consider a NPRM to review the FCC's cost-based pricing
rules for unbundled network elements.

Finally, the FCC will consider a Second Report and Order regarding regulations
to facilitate the connection of customer premises equipment purchased from retail
outlets to multichannel video programming distibutor systems. This is CS Docket
No. 97-80 and PP Docket No. 00-67.

People and Appointments

8/29. MCI WorldCom appointed five new members to its
Board of Directors:
Eric Holder, Laurence Harris, Grant Gregory, Judith Haberkorn,
and David Matlin. Holder is a partner in the law firm of
Covington & Burling. He was Deputy
Attorney General, and before that, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia,
during the Clinton administration. Harris has been a partner in the law and
lobbying firm of Patton Boggs since 2001. Before that, he was SVP and General
Counsel of Teligent. He also previously worked for
MCI. Gregory is a former
Touche Ross Chairman. Haberkorn is a retired Bell Atlantic executive. Matlin is
CEO of MatlinPatterson Global Advisers. See,
release.

9/3. President Bush nominated Gordon England to be Secretary of the Navy.
This is a reappointment. He had previously been Secretary of the Navy, but was
briefly appointed to the Department of Homeland Security to assist in its
establishment. See, White House release.

9/3. President Bush nominated Michael
Wynne to be Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (ATL). He replaces Edward Aldridge.
Wynne is currently Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for ATL. He previously spent 23
years working for General Dynamics. See, White House release
and
release. See also, website for the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for ATL. This Office oversees, among
other things, the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA), which is involved in numerous information
technology related projects.

9/3. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Jeffrey Rosen to be
General Counsel of the Department of Transportation. He is currently a partner
in the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. See, White House
release.

9/3. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Karen Evans to be
Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government in the
Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). She is currently Chief Information Officer at the Department
of Energy. See, White House
release.

FTC Will Not Enforce GLB Rule Against
Attorneys Pending Resolution of Court Challenge

9/3. The U.S. District Court
(DC) held a status hearing in New York State Bar Association v.
FTC. This suit, and a related action brought by the American Bar
Association (ABA), challenge the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC)
rule that applies the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm Leach Bliley
Act (GLBA) to practicing attorneys.

The FTC stated that it will file a letter in which it states that it will not
investigate, or enforce its rule against, attorneys pending resolution of this
challenge.

The Congress passed the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, Pub. L. No.
106-102, 113 Stat. 1338 (1999), which is better known as the Gramm Leach Bliley
Act or GLB, to enable financial institutions, such as banks and insurance
companies, to associate. Since this process provides financial
institutions with increased access to the personal financial information of
customers, the Congress included provisions intended to protect financial
privacy.

The GLB Act's privacy provisions apply only to "financial institutions". The
definition does not reference law firms or lawyers. The entire legislative
history is almost devoid of reference to lawyers. Moreover, lawyers are already
subject to client confidentiality rules. Nevertheless, the FTC and other
agencies adopted rules extending the GLB privacy provisions to practicing
lawyers.

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)
and the ABA both filed complaints against the FTC in the District Court, and
many state bar associations have file amicus curiae briefs in support.

The Court also set the schedule for further briefing on cross motions for
summary judgment, which will wrap up with final replies in late November.

Thursday, September 4

Items that have been added to this calendar since the last issue of the TLJ Daily
E-Mail Alert are highlighted in red.

9:30 AM The Senate Judiciary
Committee is scheduled to hold an executive business meeting. See,
notice.
The agenda includes
consideration of several judicial nominees, including Henry Saad (to be a
Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit), Larry Alan Burns
(Southern District of California), Glen Conrad (Western District of Virginia),
Henry Floyd (District of South Carolina), Kim Gibson (Western District of
Pennsylvania), Michael Mosman (District of Oregon), and Dana Sabraw (Southern
District of California). This committee frequently changes the time and agenda
of its meetings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate
Appropriations Committee will meet to mark up four appropriations bills
for fiscal year 2004, including the Commerce, Justice, State, and the
Judiciary (CJS) appropriations bill. This includes appropriations for most
of the technology related agencies, including the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA), National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), and other Department of Commerce entities. The
Appropriations Committee will also mark up the District of Columbia,
Transportation/Treasury, and VA/HUD/Independent Agencies bills. Location: Room
106, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary
Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual
Property will hold an oversight hearing titled "Internet Domain Name Fraud
-- the U.S. Government's Role in Ensuring Public Access to Accurate Whois Data".
The hearing will be webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space will hold a
hearing titled "A New Kind of Science", which is also the title of a
book by
Stephen Wolfram, who will testify
at the hearing. Wolfram states that he uses some simple computer experiments
"to tackle a remarkable array of fundamental problems in science, from the
origins of apparent randomness in physical systems, to the development of
complexity in biology, the ultimate scope and limitations of mathematics, the
possibility of a truly fundamental theory of physics, the interplay between
free will and determinism, and the character of intelligence in the universe."
However, not all readers share his enthusiasm for his book. See, reviews in
Amazon. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

The Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) changes to its media ownership rules, announced on June 2, 2003, take
effect. See,
notice in the Federal Register that recites and describes the rules changes.
See, Federal Register, August 5, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 150, at Pages 46285 - 46358.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its
Notice of Inquiry [21 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter
of Inquiry Regarding Carrier Current
Systems, including Broadband over Power Line Systems". See,
notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 100, at Pages 28182 - 28186.
See also, story titled "FCC Announces NOI Regarding Broadband Over Powerlines"
in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 628, April 24, 2003, and story titled "FCC
Releases NOI on Broadband Over Power Lines" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 656,
May 7, 2003.This is ET Docket No. 03-104. For more information, contact Anh Wride at
202 418-0577 or anh.wride@fcc.gov.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit requests to testify orally at the September
18, 2003 hearing of the U.S. Trade
Representative's (USTR) interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) to
assist it in preparing its annual report to the Congress on the People's
Republic of China's compliance with the commitments that it made in connection
with its accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO). See,
notice in the Federal Register, July 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 139, at Pages
43247 - 43248.

1:00 PM. The Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC) will host a news conference to release its 2003 Privacy
and Human Rights report. The topics to be addressed include Total Information
Awareness, the Patriot Act, biometric identification, and new technologies
of surveillance. The event will be webcast. Location: First Amendment Lounge,
National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the
Federal Communications Commision (FCC) in response to its
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) [7 pages in PDF] regarding the
draft Nationwide Agreement [28 pages in PDF] of the FCC, the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Conference of State
Historic Preservation Officers, regarding undertakings for communications
facilities, including communications towers and antennas, under the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This proceeding is titled "In the
matter of Nationwide Programmatic Agreement Regarding the Section 106 National
Historic Preservation Act Review Process". It is WT Docket No. 03-128. For
more information, contact Frank Stilwell at 202 418-1892 or
fstilwel@fcc.gov. See, story titled
"FCC Announces NPRM Regarding Communications Facilities and the National
Historic Preservation Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 677, June 10, 2003.
See also,
notice in the Federal Register, July 9, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 131, at Pages
40876 - 40887.

Tuesday, September 9

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The
Executive Office of the President's (EOP)
Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP)
President's Council of Advisors
on Science and Technology (PCAST) will meet. The agenda includes (1)
discussion of the status of the work of its workforce education
subcommittee, (2) discussion of the preliminary draft findings of its
information technology manufacturing competitiveness subcommittee, and (3) a
continuation of its discussion of nanotechnology and its review of the federal
National Nanotechnology Initiative. See,
notice in the Federal Register, August 27, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 166, at
Pages 51577 - 51578. Location: Room 100 of the National Academy of Sciences
Building, 500 5th Street, NW.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The U.S. International Telecommunication Advisory
Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss the matters related to the International
Telecommunications Union's (ITU) World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will take place on
December 10-12, 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland. See,
notice in the Federal Register, August 18, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 159, at
Pages 49536 - 49537. Location: Historic National Academy of Science Building,
2100 C St., NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit written comments to the
U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR)
interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) to assist it in preparing its
annual report to the Congress on the People's Republic of China's compliance
with the commitments that it made in connection with its accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO). See,
notice in the Federal Register, July 21, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 139, at Pages
43247 - 43248.

4:00 PM. Josef Drexl (Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property,
Competition, and Tax Law) will give a lecture titled "The Role of
International Private Law in Establishing a Competition-Oriented International
Copyright System". For more information, contact Robert Brauneis at 202
994-6138 or rbrauneis@law.gwu.edu.
Location: George Washington University Law School, Faculty Conference Center,
5th Floor, Burns Building, 716 20th Street, NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold
a hearing on
HR 2898, the "E-911 Implementation Act of 2003". See,
notice. The event will be webcast. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

Deadline for claimants to royalty fees collected for calendar year 2001
under the cable statutory license to submit comments and notices of intention
to participate to the Copyright Office
regarding whether a Phase I or Phase II controversy exists as to the
distribution of those fees. See,
notice in the Federal Register, August 13, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 156, at
Pages 48415 - 48417.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's
(USPTO) final rule amending its rules to separate the provisions for patent
matters and trademark matters with respect to filing correspondence,
requesting copies of documents, payment of fees, and general information takes
effect. The USPTO is "amending its Rules of Practice in Patent Cases to delete
all references to trademark matters, and amending its Rules of Practice in
Trademark Cases to add new rules setting forth provisions for corresponding
with and paying fees to the Office in trademark cases, and for requesting
copies of trademark documents." See,
notice in the Federal Register, August 13, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 156, at
Pages 48286 - 48293.

8/27. A collection of groups wrote a
letter to
Secretary of Homeland Security
Tom Ridge requesting that the
Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) give the public an opportunity to comment on procedures
implementing the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act (HSISA), which was
enacted as Section VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The letter states
that these procedures "may restrict the public dissemination of ``homeland
security information,´´ including information that is ``sensitive but
unclassified.´´" The signatories include the Center for Democracy and
Technology (CDT), the Electronic Privacy Information Center
(EPIC), and library and
journalism groups.

9/2. AT&T filed a complaint in
U.S. District Court (EDVa) against
MCI WorldCom
and Onvoy alleging fraud, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment,
racketeering conspiracy and substantive racketeering through a pattern of
multiple acts of mail fraud and wire fraud in connection with what AT&T
describes as "orchestrating a scheme called the ``Canadian Gateway Project,´´ in
which they worked with other telecommunications companies to reroute MCI
customers' domestic phone calls through Canada to deceive and defraud AT&T into
paying hefty termination fees for terminating calls to high-cost independent
telephone companies in the U.S." See,
AT&T release.
See also, Onvoy
responses to AT&T's allegations.

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